Collecting Maple water in Magog.

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In Quebec we are very fond of the maple season because it is a sign that winter is coming to its end. Even though we may still have a lot of snow on the ground sometimes and we usually get a last snowstorm in enf of March of early April, it doesn't matter because winter is almost finished. On the small land of my father, we start drilling holes on the maple trees at the end of February. We usually begin collecting the water around mid-march.

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How we do it:

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Photo Step 1: we drill a hole in the tree.

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Photo Step 2: with a hammer, we knock on the tap for inserting it in the hole we just made. Note the tap has already a cover attached to it.

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Photo Step 3: the tap has also a hook for holding the bucket

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Then we wait for the right weather conditions. The best is when the night temperature is no lower than -10°C and the day temperature reaches between +5 and +10°C. Then the maple trees start dripping water drop by drop.

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When the buckets are empty, we hear the drops hitting the metallic bottom of the bucket. When water has covered the bottom, then we hear the noise the drops make falling into the water.

Look the close-up photos of the tap. You will see the water in the tap, the drop starting to form under the tap, and the drop falling in the bucket.

When there is enough water in the buckets, like 1/3 full, we collect the water. Notice as the maple water is clear. If you taste that water, you will find it a little bit sweet.

We pour the contents of the bucket in a bigger bucket. We walk from tree to tree repeating the process. When the bigger bucket is full, we walk to the trail where the 4X4 motorcycle (“quad”) is. There is a trailer attached to the quad. We pour the water from our bigger buckets in the big black barrel you see in the trailer. When the barrel is full or we have collected all the trees, we drive the quad to the maple cabin. When she is there, Noémie is usually the driver. At the maple cabin, we put the water from the barrel to the reservoir inside the cabin. The reservoir is connected to a pan where the water will be boiled to be changed in syrup. It is a long process and another story.

By Robert Pomerleau